The Paleo lifestyle works best for me… here’s what I eat and when

WHEN people hear about how I’ve transformed my life and health through diet and exercise, one of the questions I’m asked most often is, “What do you eat?”

And this question is usually emphasised, or repeated, when I tell people that I follow a Paleo lifestyle, which excludes legumes, refined sugar, processed foods, dairy and grains from my diet.

My answer is always the same – there’s lots for me to eat, and I focus on what is Paleo, rather than the things the lifestyle excludes.

An important practice which has kept me on track is preparing meals ahead of time, and making sure that I pack a daily food bag for work.

And if you’re curious about what goes into this food bag, today I’m going to tell you. As I spend many hours away from home each day – including an early morning gym session – I need to make sure that I have more than just lunch in my bag. While the contents change from week to week, this is a general idea of what I eat at the office from day to day.

Breakfast: I eat two to three small portions of fruit every day, starting with a banana before my 6.15am gym session. “Second breakfast”, which I have around 8.30am, usually consists of a protein source like a small portion of meat or boiled egg, with some baby tomato or other fresh fruit or vegetables.

If I am having some grain-free bread, I’ll have it around breakfast time rather than later in the day.

By breakfast time, I’ve usually already had a litre of water in the gym, so I don’t feel bad about the two cups of unsweetened black coffee I usually have to get my day started.

Snacks: While I have read the arguments against grazing and snacking throughout the day, I’m not one of those people who are able to only eat at meal times. I, therefore, make sure that I have healthy, Paleo-friendly snacks available for when I’m feeling peckish. But, it’s important to measure the correct portions of these snacks because, while nuts are healthy, eating a 200g bag in one go is not going to help you achieve your goal if you’re trying to lose weight. The reality is that a single serving of nuts is about 30g – that’s about as much as can fit in the cupped palm of your hand. Other snacks you can consider are carrot sticks, berries (fairly low in calories), seeds or biltong.

Lunch: This is my main meal of the day, but to ensure that I don’t over-indulge, I pack my lunches into medium-sized containers. It’s the same principle as serving your meal on a side plate rather than a bigger supper plate.

This meal usually comprises a small portion of meat, chicken or fish and a large portion of vegetables, some of which may be starchy like potato, sweet potato or butternut. I usually ensure these are accompanied by bigger portions of green vegetables like broccoli and spinach, or cauliflower.

If the protein source included in my lunch box was red meat, I avoid having red meat for supper.

I eat very little between lunch and supper, but if I’ll be exercising in the evening, I’ll have a small banana at around 4pm.

Throughout the day, I drink water – usually as much as three litres, but I don’t force myself to finish that much if it doesn’t feel comfortable.

Supper, which I try to eat by 7pm, will be far lighter than lunch – usually a salad with a protein source, and preferably low-carb.

While this way of eating works for me, it’s always best to chat to a professional if you’re planning to make major changes to your diet – particularly if you have existing health concerns.

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